THE TOMATO SALSA CHALLENGE GRADE LEVEL: 3–5 OVERVIEW Tomatoes—whether fresh or cooked with other foods—are one of the most popular vegetables around. In this lesson, students read some surprising facts about tomatoes, conduct a comparison tasting of different locally grown tomato varieties, and invent tomato salsa recipes using an assortment of possible ingredients. CENTER FOR ECOLITERACY
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The TOMATO SALSA ChALLeNGe
G r A d e L e V e L : 3 – 5
overview
Tomatoes—whether fresh or cooked
with other foods—are one of the most
popular vegetables around. In this
lesson, students read some surprising
facts about tomatoes, conduct a
comparison tasting of different
locally grown tomato varieties, and
invent tomato salsa recipes using an
assortment of possible ingredients.
C e N T e r f O r e C O L i T e r A C y
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The TOMATO SALSA ChALLeNGe CeNTeR FOR eCOLITeRACY WWW.eCOLITeRACY.ORG
The TOMATO SALSA ChALLeNGe CeNTeR FOR eCOLITeRACY WWW.eCOLITeRACY.ORG
A S S e S S m e N T
Provide students with the prices of the salsa ingredients you used in the lesson,
and have students determine how much their salsa cost to make (you might also
have them include a value for their labor). have them compare this cost with the
cost of salsa from a grocery store ad in the local paper. Ask, “In addition to cost,
what are the pluses and minuses of the homemade salsa and the store-bought
salsa?”
B A C KG r o U N D
Tomatoes are a fruit with glossy, thin, smooth skin and a juicy flesh containing
soft, edible seeds. Botanically speaking, a fruit is the part of a plant that contains
seeds, which would make tomatoes a fruit. But in 1893, the U.S. Supreme Court
had to decide whether they are fruits or vegetables.
At that time, the Port Authority of New York classified them as vegetables,
which were subject to a 10 percent import tax. But a fruit importer argued that
tomatoes were fruits, which were not taxed. In their decision, the judges ruled
that while tomatoes are botanically fruits, people use them as a vegetable. So
under customs law, at least, tomatoes counted as vegetables.
h i S T o r y o F T o m AT o e S
Tomatoes are originally from the Andes region of South America, where wild
tomato plants still grow today. It is not clear how they made their way to Central
America, but that is where Spanish conquistadores first encountered tomatoes in
the 1500s.
The english word “tomato” comes from tomatl, its name in Nahuatl, the language
of the Aztecs. Central Americans used the tomatl in various sauces and dishes,
and even mixed it with pepper and salt—perhaps the precursor of the modern
salsa.
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The Spanish distributed the tomato throughout most of the Caribbean colonies,
and introduced it to europe, the Philippines, and Southeast Asia. The first variety
to reach europe was most likely yellow in color, since in Spain and later in Italy
they were known as pomi d’oro or golden apples. Initially, europeans didn’t eat
them, but used them only as ornamental plants. The French referred to tomatoes
as pommes d’amour, or love apples, for their supposed aphrodisiacal properties.
The Spanish, Catalan, and Occitan people of northwestern Italy were the first
europeans to embrace the tomato and cultivate it for food. They fried it with
eggplants, squash, and onions to use as a condiment. (The typically Italian
tomato dishes—like pasta sauce and pizza—wouldn’t come until much later, in the
late 1800s.)
Because tomatoes belong to the same family as deadly nightshade, many people
thought they were poisonous. In the 1600s, upper-class english and english
colonists shunned their use.
By the late 1700s, tomatoes had become more common in North America.
Thomas Jefferson was purported to both grow and eat tomatoes from his estate.
In 1897, Joseph Campbell introduced a condensed tomato soup, which helped
seal the tomato’s popularity in culture.
Today, tomatoes are the second-most-popular vegetable in the United States,
after potatoes. Americans eat an average of 30 pounds of tomatoes per person a
year.
C A L i F o r N i A T o m AT o C r o P
California is the leading producer of tomatoes in the United States. Tomatoes are
grown either for fresh eating or for processing (canned tomato sauce or diced
tomatoes), with different varieties suited for different uses.
California produces a third of the country’s fresh market tomatoes. These
tomatoes are grown from spring through fall, picked by hand, and packed into
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The TOMATO SALSA ChALLeNGe CeNTeR FOR eCOLITeRACY WWW.eCOLITeRACY.ORG
25-pound lugs. In the spring and fall, San Diego County is the leading producer,
while Fresno County dominates summer production. Most fresh tomatoes sold in
the winter are imported from Mexico.
California’s processing tomatoes account for over 90 percent of the United States
production and 35 percent worldwide. All processing tomatoes are harvested
mechanically and trucked to the processing plant directly from the field.
The tomato harvester was invented in the 1950s by two seed specialists at
the University of California, Davis. Their challenge was to build a machine that
wouldn’t squash the delicate fruit. They solved the problem by developing a
special type of tomato, nicknamed the “square tomato,” that had thick skin and
firm fruit able to withstand the rough handling of the machine.
h e A LT h B e N e F i T S o F T o m AT o e S
One medium tomato contains 40 percent of the recommended daily allowance
of Vitamin C and 20 percent for Vitamin A, as well as a number of nutrients
(including niacin and folate) that may help reduce heart disease. Tomatoes are
also rich in lycopene, the substance that gives them their red color and may help
to prevent certain cancers.
S e L e C T i N G T o m AT o e S
Tomatoes are a warm-season crop, which means that they thrive with lots of sun
and warm temperatures. In California, they are grown from spring through fall. If
you see tomatoes at the store in the winter, they are likely from Mexico or other
tropical locations.
When selecting tomatoes for this lesson, take advantage of the wide array
available at farmer’s markets, home gardens, or your local grocer’s. You may find
cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, or sauce tomatoes. heirloom tomatoes come
in a range of sizes and colors, including red, yellow, orange, and even green-
striped varieties.
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10 AmAZiNG facts about tomatoes first came from South America, where many wild tomato types still grow.
1000years ago, the Aztecs in Mexico invented a mixture of tomatoes, peppers, and salt—perhaps the first “salsa.”
3. In the 1500s, the Spanish brought tomatoes from Central America to Spain and from there to Italy. The Italians called tomatoes pomi d’oro (golden apples) because they were yellow.
4. The tomato has been called both a fruit and a vegetable. A fruit is the part of a plant that contains its seeds, so tomatoes are fruits. But in 1893, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that tomatoes are also vegetables, since we eat them like a vegetable.
Fruits, like tomatoes and apples, have seeds.
5. There are two main types of tomatoes grown in California: processing tomatoes and fresh market tomatoes. Processing tomatoes are made into canned tomato sauce and canned diced tomatoes for pizza and other foods.
6. Many people used to think that tomatoes are poisonous. That’s because tomatoes are related to a plant called deadly nightshade, that really is poisonous.
1.Tomatoes
2.OVER
STUDeNT hANDoUT
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10 AmAZiNG facts about tomatoes (cont.)
7. As a warm-season crop, tomatoes thrive in sunny, warm weather. In California, they grow from spring through fall. If you buy tomatoes in winter, they are likely from Mexico or other tropical places.
9. Store-bought tomatoes today often have thick skin and firm fruit so that they can withstand traveling long distances in large trucks—but they are fairly bland. Old-fashioned heirloom varieties are becoming popular, because they have more flavor.
10. California grows more tomatoes than any other state in the United States. It produces more than 95 percent of the country’s processing tomatoes and 30 percent of its fresh market tomatoes.
8. All of California’s processing tomatoes are harvested by machine. The tomato harvester moves slowly through a field, cutting down whole tomato plants. It separates out the tomatoes and spits them directly into truck beds for transport.
30% 95% fresh processing
Examples of colorful heirloom tomatoes
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T o m AT o S A L S A C h A L L e N G e
Your challenge is to make the most delicious tomato salsa using no more than
six of the ingredients provided. Of course, your recipe must use tomatoes, or it
wouldn’t be tomato salsa!
1 What ingredients will you use in your recipe? Create a shopping list by writing
your ingredients in the chart below.
ingredienthow much you
add at first
how much you
add after tasting Total amount
2 Make your salsa. Measure how much of each ingredient you add to the mix.
Write the amount under “how much you add at first.”
3 Taste your salsa using a clean spoon. Decide whether your recipe needs more
of something.
4 Adjust your recipe. Measure each ingredient you add. Write the new amounts
under “how much you add after tasting.” Add the amounts together to get the
total.
5 Describe your salsa using several different adjectives or descriptive terms.
6 Name your salsa.
7 Complete a recipe card for your salsa. For each ingredient, put how much is
needed. Write the recipe steps.
STUDeNT hANDoUT
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